New York Rangers: Gauthier’s debut, peak Kreider, other takeaways

1. Gauthier shows promise

Of all the action and all the storylines to digest from this game, one that might have gone under the radar was the New York Rangers debut of Julien Gauthier.

The Blueshirts sent defensive prospect Joey Keane to the Carolina Hurricanes for Gauthier, who immediately beefs up the forward department on the depth chart.

Gauthier, who stands at 6-feet-4, 230 pounds, is a high-end prospect who just suffered from the Hurricanes having a logjam of forwards.

However, the path to succeed will be a lot clearer with the Rangers for Gauthier, who could play a huge role down the stretch depending on what the front office decides to do at the Trade Deadline.

And, you could have a case for suggesting that Gauthier is the long-term replacement for Chris Kreider should the star get dealt by Monday.

After all, Gauthier is a huge body who also possesses blistering speed and can get to the net while shooting the puck.

He was thrown straight into the lineup against the Blackhawks and, while he only saw 7:18 minutes of ice time, the wing showed glimpses of his tantalizing potential.

The 22-year-old recorded one shot on goal and one hit while playing on the fourth line with Brett Howden and Brendan Lemieux, and the forward won the penalty that led to Ryan Strome’s power play goal in the third period after drawing a holding penalty on Olli Maatta.

This was just the starter when it comes to seeing what Julien Gauthier is all about, but we could be treated to both the main and the afters once the madness of the Trade Deadline is over.

This was a smart trade by General Manager Jeff Gorton with the Rangers lacking high-end wings, and Gauthier looks built for the NHL which is important given what could happen between now and Monday.